Active and passive: Pickleball attracts the tennis stars
Be it active on the court or as an investment opportunity: Pickleball experiences a lot of enthusiasm among the ranks of the stars on the WTA or ATP tours.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Dec 22, 2022, 08:30 am
The idea of facing two very mature men as doubles opponents in a tennis match is scary enough. If now the two Americans also compete together on the much smaller pickleball court. how are you supposed to get a ball past it profitably? Sock in particular is still considered one of the world's best double cracks on the tour. And apparently enjoys pickleball in the off-season. Going so far that Sock and Querrey both played a few league matches in Las Vegas.
Naomi Osaka, on the other hand, is pursuing a different, namely commercial approach. In the coming year, the Major League Pickleball (MLP) will be held for the first time with 24 teams. And Osaka has invested in the franchise in Miami. Incidentally, so does Nick Kyrgios and current USA Davis Cup captain Mardy Fish.
John Isner and Chris Evert are also investing
Four former greats have made the same move in Chicago: Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Lindsay Davenport and Gigi Fernandez. John Isner, on the other hand, has chosen the Dallas team as an investment opportunity.
Although Pickleball has been contested in the USA since 1965 (with currently almost five million active players), this discipline could really only really pick up speed in 2023: That is when the merger between the MLP and the Professional Pickleball Association will have the competitive situation that has existed up to now of these two leagues done.